Check out my clients, Stella and Harry, showing off their place training. Aren’t they cute?!

Place training is one of my all time favorite commands to teach. It is terrific for getting the dog away from the door when someone is coming in, it is terrific for impulse control, it is a great non-punishing way to break up escalating play between two dogs, it is great for keeping the dog from begging at the dinner table, it is a great solution for dogs who bark at the door or windows during specific times of day, and more! I could go on almost forever with this list, I LOVE place training!

To start off, it is easiest to use a clicker and shape your dog. Click-treat any interaction with the bed at all. Gradually withhold your click for only more interactive behaviors, such as a paw on the bed. Eventually, you will work your way to all four paws on the bed, a sit, and finally a down. Make sure to deliver the treats on the bed instead of out of your hand, this will help you dog to associate the treats with the bed itself.

Repeat this several times until your dog is eagarly running to the bed.  At this point, you can add the cue "place" just before your dog goes to run to the bed.  

Do any of you practice place training with your dogs?